Spring til indhold.
Forside

PhD Student From Plan Receives Prestigious EliteForsk Travel Grant

Nyhed

PhD Student From Plan Receives Prestigious EliteForsk Travel Grant

Leire Retegui-Schiettekatte from Aalborg University is among the highly talented young researchers who have received an EliteForsk travel grant this year. The grant provides Leire with a unique opportunity to collaborate with international colleagues and enhance her ability to monitor hydrological phenomena such as floods and droughts.

Nyhed

PhD Student From Plan Receives Prestigious EliteForsk Travel Grant

Leire Retegui-Schiettekatte from Aalborg University is among the highly talented young researchers who have received an EliteForsk travel grant this year. The grant provides Leire with a unique opportunity to collaborate with international colleagues and enhance her ability to monitor hydrological phenomena such as floods and droughts.

By Susanne Togeby, AAU Communication and Public Affairs
Photo: Ehsan Forootan, Department of Sustainability and Planning

PhD student Leire Retegui-Schiettekatte from the Department of Sustainability and Planning has been awarded the prestigious 2025 EliteForsk travel grant at a formal ceremony in Copenhagen. The grant was presented by Her Majesty Queen Mary, while Head of Department Anne Merrild and Research Group Leader Ehsan Forootan attended the event.

Precise models can help protect people from catastrophic consequences

Leire Retegui-Schiettekatte

Leire Retegui Schiettekatte conducts research in geodesy and hydrology within the Geodesy Research Group at Aalborg University. Through advanced experiments, she investigates how new satellite data can contribute to more precise monitoring of extreme hydrological phenomena such as floods and droughts.

"Hydrological models play a central role in understanding, monitoring, and predicting extreme weather events. Precise models can help protect people from catastrophic consequences," explains Leire Retegui Schiettekatte to the Ministry of Higher Education and Science in connection with receiving the award.

Research Group Leader Ehsan Forootan and Leire Retegui-Schiettekatte at the award ceremony

Leire Retegui-Schiettekatte and Head of Departement Anne Merrild at the award ceremony

Research Group Leader Ehsan Forootan and Leire Retegui-Schiettekatte at the award ceremony

Leire Retegui-Schiettekatte and Head of Departement Anne Merrild at the award ceremony

Research Group Leader Ehsan Forootan and Leire Retegui-Schiettekatte at the award ceremony

Leire Retegui-Schiettekatte and Head of Departement Anne Merrild at the award ceremony

Prestigous Travel Grant

The EliteForsk travel grants are awarded by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science to the country's most talented and promising PhD students. An EliteForsk travel grant amounts to DKK 200,000 and aims to support outstanding PhD students in undertaking extended research stays at some of the world's leading research institutions.

Leire Retegui-Schiettekatte plans to visit the University of California, Berkeley, and the Italian National Research Council. Additionally, she intends to collaborate with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, where she will explore how satellite data can best be utilized in practice to improve the monitoring of extreme hydrological events.

Originally from the Basque Country in Spain, Leire studied physics, geophysics, and geodesy before moving to Aalborg for her PhD project. Speaking to the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, she shares:

"Besides an extraordinary and supportive research group, I have also found new friends and my current partner here in Denmark. I love traveling, which I have plenty of opportunities for within the scope of my PhD work."

Translated by Emma Holtegaard Hansen

Related News